In the past couple of months since theatres reopened, several films made their way to cinemas. And most of them were small or medium budget projects. However, those films such as Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari, Indoo Ki Jawani, Madam Chief Minister and Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi, could not grab eyeballs and neither could they get the cash registers ringing. This has led to people wondering if budget films should head to OTT platforms as a rule and if theatres should be reserved only for films with a huge star cast?

“Some of the biggest films have also headed to OTT platforms, so we should stop distinguishing between ‘big’ and ‘small’ films based on their budgets,” says filmmaker Anand Pandit.

He further asserts that what we are seeing is a diversification of what was supposed to be a success formula. “Today, there is no formula. On OTT alone, last year, you saw Laxmii, Coolie No 1, Raat Akeli Hai, Ludo and Sir. And all of these films did well so who is to say which film is meant for the big screen and which isn’t?” he asks.

Filmmaker Nikkhil Advani says that they are clearly demarcating their productions on the basis of a few things. “We are making pure feature films where budgets, scale and point of consumption is suited to cinema, for theatres. We are having conversations with platforms for projects which are being commissioned, and we are also making smaller films which would premiere directly on digital and be sold to them,” he says.

Actor Bidita Bag, whose film Fauji Calling is going to make its way to theatres soon, says, “I am worried that people might not come and see the film. Big films will grab more eyeballs any day, and unke saamne yeh chhoti machli kya karegi? So, it will become difficult to release the film after March because of the big films lined up.”

Many production houses have adopted a release strategy that is decided on a case to case basis. “It’s true that post-pandemic, the release schedule of several films have been put in disarray. It is hard for small firms to manage narrow theatrical windows. In that scenario, if it makes monetary sense for a smaller film to release on an OTT platform, I do see this becoming a trend,” says Siddharth Anand Kumar, Vice President — Films & Events at Saregama India Ltd.

In conclusion, Pandit adds that we just have to accept that content has to be experimental now regard of the budget. “The conventional blockbuster may have to redefine itself though I do feel the magic of the big screen will prevail,” he says.